OSHA watch

Leadership confirmed by Senate

Last month the Senate confirmed David Keeling as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. Mr. Keeling, who held lead safety roles at United Parcel Service and Amazon, has received praise from employers and the business community for his technical expertise and practical understanding of workplace safety. OSHA observers expect that he will reduce regulatory burdens and end public data releases. In his confirmation hearing, he emphasized the need to modernize outdated standards, such as LOTO, expand cooperative programs including the Voluntary Protection Programs, and data-driven enforcement focused on high-risk industries. Once the government resumes operating, he'll guide the regulatory agenda and actions on the proposed heat illness standard, new emergency response, and injury reporting requirements are expected to be priorities.

OSHRC's ability to review ALJ decisions restored

The Senate's confirmation of Jonathan Snare to serve on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) restores its ability to review administrative law judge (ALJ) decisions. However, OSHRC, which still has two vacancies, lacks a quorum to make case decisions and is inactive during the government shutdown. His term will expire on April 27, 2029, and the other two terms expire in April 2027 and 2031, ensuring the Trump administration can make a lasting impression on how OSHA standards are enforced.

10th Circuit Court considering cases that could limit workplace violence enforcement

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma is considering two cases, Cedar Springs Hospital and UHS of Delaware, which could limit workplace violence enforcement by raising the burden of proof for citations under the General Duty Clause. These cases involve psychiatric hospitals that received citations for failing to protect staff from assaults by patients. A ruling could either uphold the OSHRC precedent that workplace violence is a recognized hazard or impose stricter requirements on the agency's burden of proof.

MSHA
New leadership

Wayne Palmer, the new Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, has a track record both within the MSHA and in private business. While Mr. Palmer will play a key role in the outcome of the proposed silica rule, which is currently stayed by the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals and is expected to pursue a deregulatory agenda, much of the agency's operation will not change. Established by statute, the MSHA enforcement scheme mandates that all underground mines be inspected in their entirety four times per year and all surface mines be inspected in their entirety twice a year. It's also required to investigate hazard complaints, whistleblower complaints, and accidents.

Impact of shutdown

While 711 of the 1,590 employees were furloughed, the remaining 879 continue to complete statutorily required regular mine safety and health inspections, investigate accidents, targeted mines, hazards, and safety complaints, and provide mine emergency support. They will not conduct miner training programs, Part 100 conferences, civil penalty collections, equipment certifications, and state grant administration.

The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC) has four of its 51 employees on duty, and they will adjudicate disputes arising from mine emergencies where "there is a reasonable likelihood that either the safety of life or the protection of property would be compromised to some significant degree by failure to provide prompt adjudication."

Health alert stresses good housekeeping practices

A recent health alert urges good worksite housekeeping to reduce miners' exposure to respirable dust and silica.

NIOSH
IDLH profiles developed for three chemicals

A recent series of reports details immediately dangerous to life or health values (IDLH) for three chemical substances:

• Hydrogen bromide (HBr): Used in organic synthesis of bromine-containing compounds, as a mineral ore solvent or mineral residue cleaner, and as an alkylation catalyst.
• Hydrogen chloride (HCl): Used in fumigation; the manufacture of acrylics, synthetic rubber, plastics and dyes, steel and iron hardening, and mining.
• Hydrogen iodide (HI): Used as a reducing agent and in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, iodine salts, and iodine-based disinfectants.

State Plans

Cal/OSHA
New high-hazard industry list released
The High Hazard Unit randomly selects employers with the highest incidences of occupational injuries and illnesses, using an annual list based on "Days Away, Restricted or Transferred" (DART) rates to target comprehensive inspections. Effective October 1, the new list includes new industry groups and shows generally lower DART rates. It adds industry groups such as Wholesale Trade, Real Estate and Rental Leasing, Other Services (except Public Administration), and Death Care Services, which increases the number of covered industries from thirty-five to forty-two.

Employers operating in industries on the list should be prepared for the possibility of a comprehensive targeted, programmed inspection. During FY2024, the High Hazard Unit conducted 268 targeted inspections.

New construction safety regulation for confined spaces
The Standards Board adopted revisions to regulations on construction safety orders for confined space, which are now pending before the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). The regulation, which could go into effect on January 1, 2026, broadens the definition of an "entry employer", requires a "competent person" to conduct an initial survey to identify all confined spaces at the start of a project and periodically afterward, and has new requirements for confined space permits, entry, and training. Employers must update their written confined space entry programs to meet the new requirements.

Protections against silica dust exposure expanded
In October, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 20, which amends the Labor Code to target occupational exposure to crystalline silica in the artificial stone fabrication industry, introducing new definitions, exposure controls, training, reporting, and enforcement mechanisms.The new law expands the definition of "serious injury or illness" to include silicosis and silica-related lung cancer, bans the use of dry methods when engaging in high-exposure trigger tasks, and requires employers to use wet methods to effectively suppress respirable crystalline silica dust when employees perform such tasks. Beginning July 1, 2026, owners and operators of fabrication shops must ensure employees receive appropriate training and submit written annual attestations to the Division to confirm the required training was provided.

Rideshare companies' challenges to citations can't bypass administrative review process
In Uber Technologies Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations and Lyft Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations, an appellate court ruled that the rideshare companies could not bypass the administrative review process in challenging citations for failing to safeguard their drivers. The companies sought a judicial opinion asserting that Cal/OSHA did not have jurisdiction because its drivers are independent contractors, not employees.

The court noted that the companies had to exhaust all administrative review procedures before seeking judicial review. When a citation is issued, Labor Code section 6600 provides an administrative remedy - specifically, a right to appeal the citations to the Appeals Board, which both companies did. They are required to complete the administrative process before pursuing their claims in superior court.

MIOSHA
November eNews
The November eNews includes information on updated PPE and hazard communication standards, the Workplace Improvement to Safety and Health Grant Program, upcoming Coffee with MIOSHA events, and worker deaths in 2025.

New workplace mental health series
A three-part webinar series highlight's the agency's efforts to improve mental health in the workplace, the launch of new initiatives, and the latest data shaping the future of mental wellness at work. For more information.

Training calendar

MNOSHA

Local Emphasis Program on confined spaces in transportation tank cleaning operations
In response to recent fatalities, a "Transportation Tank Cleaning" Local Emphasis Program was adopted. Permit-required confined space entries require the employer to identify and evaluate the hazards of permit spaces before employees enter them. The employer must then develop and implement the means, procedures, and practices necessary for safe permit space entry operations. The program is based on federal OSHA's Regional Emphasis Program for the Chicago Region, issued in 2021.

Construction seminar: Heat stress can be a year-round issue
Free construction seminars are from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and offered online or in-person. For more information.

NCDOL

Inspector vacancy rate at record low
The vacancy rate for Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs) has dropped below 10 percent from 20 percent in January, the lowest in over a decade and a major milestone in the effort to strengthen workplace safety. The Commissioner attributed this to an increase in starting salaries and a raise for veteran inspectors with three or more years of service, actions funded through a strategic reallocation of existing departmental resources.

Training calendar

TOSHA
Training seminar schedule

Recent fines and awards

California

• The Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board (OSHAB) upheld citations against Bragg Investment Company, Inc. for failing to train its employees adequately on the hazards of crane travel. The inspection was triggered when a pole slipped out of sling while repositioning a crane and fatally crushed an employee. In contesting the $55,000 citation, the company argued that it did not create the hazards. The Board noted employers are responsible for providing comprehensive training on all potential hazards associated with job site equipment, even if another party created the hazard. It also confirmed the ALJ's finding that the company failed to prove it met all the required elements of an Illness and Injury Prevention Program (IIPP).

Florida

• Tarpon-Springs based Seminole Equipment, Inc. bridge painters were removing scaffolding from the southbound I-95 bridge on the Ogeechee River when one worker fell into the river and drowned. Investigators determined that the employer failed to ensure employees used fall protection and life jackets while working on the bridge section. The company was cited for five willful and three serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $877,220.
  
  Two serious violations were issued to the L.C. Whitford Co. Inc., the controlling employer for the site, with proposed penalties of $26,480.

For more information and other enforcement cases with penalties above $40,000, visit https://www.osha.gov/enforcement/toppenalties .